And Then There Were Three
by Ksiezniczka
Summary: G1. Series of double drabbles. The pretty little thing had never been alone in her life; nor had they. Arcee, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe. No pairings. Title subject to change.
1. And Then There Were Three

**Just a little idea that's been plaguing me for a while. No pairings. Enjoy.**

"**Transformers" © Hasbro**

oOo

Arcee looked around the Ark nervously. She'd insisted she'd be fine, coming here alone, but she felt far from it, though she'd never show such weakness. It was hard enough being a femme without giving them more reason to doubt her. And it wasn't as if she were utterly alone – she'd trained under Ironhide, after all.

She missed Hot Rod, and Springer. The trio had been inseparable, as none knew their creators. Arcee was their 'Wendy', but the boys never treated her any differently for it, though they frightened off any other suitors she might have had. And now? They were galaxies apart!

Conversely, the twins would _not_ be separated. They had known their creator, but felt no affection for the weapon-maker. It had always been just them. They had never wanted anything else.

Still, seeing the lost expression on the pink femme's face, Sideswipe couldn't help but feel a twinge of empathy – he couldn't imagine what she was going through. Sunstreaker thought he was going soft.

The pretty thing had never been alone in her life, nor they. It was a match nobody expected, but they should have. Sighing, the pair walked towards her.

"Arcee, right? Wanna hang out?"

_-fin-_


	2. Just One of the Guys

**Well, the bunny kept biting. A whole bunch of bunnies, actually. So expect more of these "double drabbles". (That means 200 words, kiddies.)**

"**Transformers" © Hasbro**

oOo

Arcee was smart enough to soon learn that a bored Sideswipe spelled disaster, and rather than cause disaster for her new comrades, she took to training with the twins in practice rooms. They were skilled warriors, impressed with her superior marksmanship. Rather than try to protect the "delicate" femme, they pushed to see how far she'd go.

Arcee liked that. Ironhide, Hot Rod, and Springer had been the only mechs to treat her as equal before.

Hot Rod and Springer… she missed them. Sideswipe reminded her a little bit of Hot Rod, actually, with his tendency to be loud and brash, to never think before acting. It would have saddened her if not for the fact that Sunstreaker was _nothing_ like Springer. Besides, she had to give Sideswipe credit – he was impulsive, but somehow cunning. If not for him, she'd be extremely lonely. Sunstreaker never would've spoken to her, though he liked her well enough now.

"You missed," Sideswipe spoke. "What are you thinking about?"

Arcee gaped. How had he…?

"We can't afford distractions on the battlefield," Sunstreaker butt in. "Whoever he was, forget him. You're one of us now."

She smiled brightly, and Sunstreaker was taken aback. "Thank you."

-_fin_-


	3. Bathtime

**The last scene of this will be much more entertaining for those of you who vividly picture it in your head.**

"**Transformers" © Hasbro**

oOo

It wasn't any secret that Sunstreaker was painstakingly meticulous when it came to his appearance. He was vain, sure, but for someone with his looks, it'd be hard not to be.

So it pleased him to learn that Arcee, too, took pride in making herself look good, though she was more discreet about it. He supposed it was because she was a femme that she spent such time carefully waxing her exterior, touching up scrapes from battle that she hadn't noticed before.

In fact, after he'd once helped her touch up her back, it became a bonding time for the unlikely pair. Sometimes Sunstreaker shared some of his wax, though never any of the good stuff imported from Italy.

Sideswipe, however, didn't seem to care how much dirt caked on him, or whether he had any scratches. It made Sunstreaker embarrassed to call Sideswipe his twin – hell, he was embarrassed to call Sideswipe a Lamborghini!

And Arcee, ever-responsible Arcee, decided that an intervention was in order.

"No!" wailed Sideswipe. "I don't wanna!" But his captors wouldn't have it, putting him in stasis-cuffs Arcee had sweet-talked Prowl into loaning her.

And though he protested, Sideswipe secretly enjoyed spending time with them.

-_fin_-


	4. Well, Excuse Me, Princess

**This chapter is in honour of the fact that I finally saw "Star Wars: A New Hope" and liked it. I hope you enjoy it.**

"**Transformers" © HasTak.**

oOo

Jazz supposed it had been a mistake inviting the twins to watch the first "Star Wars" movie with him. But he had wanted to make Arcee feel welcome, and the twins had so quickly attached themselves to her.

And, he had to admit, it _was_ funny that, because of her personality and the design of her helm, Sideswipe had decided to nickname Arcee "Princess" after seeing the movie.

As in, "Looking good today, Princess!"

Or, "Don't bother getting up, Princess – I'll get the energon for you."

Or, "Wanna see how a _real_ mech fights, Princess?" just before getting himself in trouble for picking a fight with his brother.

Even Sunstreaker got in on it, with the occasional, "You better not touch my wax, Princess."

At first, Arcee took it in stride. After all, she liked her helm design, Leia-esque as it was. And the princess had been her favourite character in the movie. Still, she had never found the nickname as amusing as Jazz, even if she knew Sideswipe better than to take it personally. And one day, she decided she'd had it.

As in, "Call me 'Princess' one more time, Sideswipe, and I'll push _you_ down a garbage chute."

_-fin-_


End file.
